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Family Feud Brews
Declaration In the city of Indra, the capital of Enca, the young dragon slayer couldn't help but to speak her mind once she and her companion had found shelter from the pouring rain: "This place sucks." What had been two days of constantly moving around the city had felt like a week in hell, Selene didn't like a single thing about it. "It's constantly raining, no colors, no activities... And NOTHING is happening in this fucking dead city. Why are we here again?” Selene turned to her younger brother as he was trying make sense of the map he bought from a local tourist shop: “You know, no one forced you to come along. And as I told you twenty minutes ago, uncle didn't like how the post service forgot about his letters last time so we’re delivering it to some politician personally.” Selene sighed in response as she looked around the streets surrounding them: Despite the pouring rain the city was busy this time of day, people were making their way throughout the main square with haste as they too wanted to get away from the weather. Lighting struck every few minutes, causing Selene to jump each time as she was naturally reacting to it out of sheer reflex. But the Atosaki siblings was finally making their way to the designated meeting place. “Can you see it? Can you see the statue? The one with the horse?” Octavian shouted towards his sister as the rain was seemingly getting louder. Selene remained silent for a few seconds before seeing a statue fitting her brother's description not too far from them, pointing towards it as she spoke: “Is it that one?” The Celestial Spirit Mage followed her hand and saw the statue they were looking for, nodding his head before the two of them started making their way towards it. A black haired lady dressed in a delicate suit in the distance heard the two's yelling among the continuous pouring of the rain. She tailed the two Atosaki siblings as they proceeded towards the statue, somehow silently treading through the puddles of water that dotted around the city. Despite how busy Indra was, the rain today muffled the sounds of the bustling settlement to a great degree. It was quite strange for the rain to be this strong, but there wasn't anything the people of Indra could do about it. The woman shadowed the siblings as they arrived at the grand statue, its metal copper body having weathered into a light green colour as it towered over the two. The horse represented in the statue had a confident expression as it looked into the sky with its jaw opened to let out a voiceless howl. The sculpture was standing on its hind legs, its front legs kicking in the air as it was frozen in place. The mane looked as though each hair was created individually, and that you could pick one by one. Walking behind the two siblings who were side by side, the woman gave a slight cough to remove herself from obscurity. "Oi you two. I'll be having no unnecessary yelling in my city you understand? Either you keep your voice down or I'll keep it down for you". Her voice was firm yet calm, intimidating in a way that would have made grown men freeze in place. She didn't hesitate or stutter, and the tone of her voice implied a invitation to fight. The rain was still pouring down and as it not only obscured the view in front of them, it also made it hard to hear anyone around them. As such Octavian didn't hear the woman behind them and continued scouting the area while Selene on the other hand heard it quite clearly. She turned around and looked at the woman, she had spent enough in this city and wasn't about to have some woman thinking she owned the city: "What?! Ever heard of Free speech or something along those lines lady? Shut it or blow it, 'Kay?" As Selene was getting busy arguing, another figure appeared in front of Octavian and the young Atosaki member recognized him. He had received a general description from his uncle before they left and this appeared to be the politician he was supposed to contact. Reaching out to give the stranger a letter, the hodded figure bowed slightly before visibly growing stiff as soon as they noticed the woman behind them. Quickly turning heels and making their way off with the letter, Octavian was left confused as he turned around to witness the two women's encounter. "Your voice is annoying." The woman said in a disgusted calm manner, clicking her fingers to produce no visible effect. But as soon as Selene was to open her mouth again, there was no sound at all that escaped the young Dragon Slayer's lips. The lady smiled before turning her attention to Octavian and the hooded figure, her expression turned sour as suspicion washed over. She didn't like how the situation before her was playing out, two simple kids were meeting with a mysterious figure in a hood; obviously something dodgy was happening. Having only caught the strange figure for a few seconds as she made her way to Octavian, the woman wasn't going to give the kid a break until she figured out was going on. Stopping over to Octavian and towering above him, she looked down at him with a stare that shot right into his soul. "So, whose your little friend?" she requested, though it sounded more like a command by the tone that she had asked it in. Octavian looked up to meet the stranger face to face, their eyes meeting as the young man pulled up his arms and pressed them slowly forward. But instead of pushing the woman away, he backed away until he was at arms length from her: "Woah, calm down there. Some personal space please." Lowering his arms as he looked over to the hooded that had stopped dead on their tracks: "Mr. Edison, yes?" The man revealed to be Mr. Edison felt a shiver run down his spine as he turned around slowly and removed his hoddy. The man was known politician but one of little status, often regarded as a coward due to his shy nature: "G-g-g-good evening. T-t-thank you for bringing me A-a-augustus l-l-letter." The man's voice trembled as much as his legs were shaking. Octavian turned back towards the woman to answer her properly: "Aye, you heard him. That's Mr. Edison and I'm Octavian Atosaki, sent here to deliver a letter from my uncle Augustus Atosaki. Does that clarify the situation ma'am?" His tone wasn't particularly respectful, but they were honest and was spoken without hesitation. Selene on the other hand was getting more and more frustrated over her lack of speech and it was reaching a boiling point. "Mr. Edison? Edison. Why do I remember that certain name?" The lady thought out loud as she scratched the back of her head. The woman clicked her fingers as she cried out in accomplishment, "EDISON! Ah, I know you. Grandfather has talked about you a lot to our family, saying how incompetent and unqualified you are to be part of the city's politicians". The lady didn't seem like she knew what she was talking about and continued to laugh after having thought so hard to think of where she had heard Mr. Edison from. The embarrassed expression she gave however was a clear sign that she didn't mean to say what she had said, bowing immediately as a sign of respect for her immature behaviour. "My apologies, I didn't mean to come out like that. The stress of House Sibiko's business has kept me on edge and quite frankly, I'm beginning to lose my mind after spending so much time on the recent factory fire thats damaged block E56 in the South District." She apologised before extending her arm outwards to Octavian with an open palm. "The name's Wilhelmine Sibiko, current matriarch of House Sibiko." As Mr. Edison displayed a mix smile that could be taken as neither a smile nor a sad expression, Octavian followed suit by extended his hand forward to shake- "My plea... SELENE WAIT!" Before the young man could finish his sentence, Selene was about to fire a Fire Dragon Roar at point blank range. 'Think you can silence me huh!?!' was the only thing she could think of. Octavian wouldn't be able to make it, even if made an attempt to try and intervene by positioning in between the two of them. Selene's timing simply couldn't have been more cruel. Wilhelmine turned her head only to be surprised with a hit by Selene's Dragon Roar, throwing the woman into the statue of the horse and creating a dent in the front, causing the horse to lean forwards. As the smoke and fire lifted from the attack, Wilhelmine was crouched forward having curled herself up like a ball when she collided with the metal statue. Her clothes were torn and some threads had caught little flames that struggled to keep lit, her hair was covered her face as whimpers of pain could be faintly heard from the matriarch. "Fu-fuck. You. Bitch." was all Wilhelmine could say as she struggled to get up to reveal the monster that Selene had released. Wilhelmine emerged with her fists tightly balled, through the hair that covered her face, her eyes shot right at Selene's as a sadistic smile formed on the woman's face. Despite the damage done to her she still found herself getting up as if it wasn't that much. Wilhelmine wanted to test the waters of what she was dealing with, "Tell me kid, do you love your family?" she asked as she snapped her fingers, the Dragon Slayer's voice was able to be heard again. "Don't you FUCKING dare threaten them you skank!" Selene was emitting a furious magical aura befitting of her position as a Fire Dragon Slayer, causing her hair and clothes to flutter as they rose as to replicate her intentions. The heat that was emitting from her caused the very rain around them to disperse before even reaching her, one would never have thought that she had ever stepped outside the door on such as a rainy day. Selene's aura suddenly disappeared as she prepared to launch another attack, but stopped as Octavian placed himself between the two women. Stretching out his arms, one towards each of them, as he began to speak: "Stop this, please. Surely there must be a better way to do this. You would be putting innocent people's lives in danger if you two started going at it here!" Acting as the voice of reason, the young man was desperately trying to stop them without having to be forced using magic to solve it. Mr. Edison, on the other hand, couldn't help but give out a screech of sorts as he stood frozen in place. He wanted to run, he wanted to run so badly but he couldn't bring himself to move from his current position. Wilhelmine scoffed and smiled at Selene, poking her tongue out as a way to aggravate the young girl even more. It was obvious Selene cared about her family, and Wilhelmine knew just the way to get back at her, but first, she needed to do something else. What she wanted was for Selene to mess up, real bad, that her family would be threatened because of her actions. She needed Selene give Wilhelmine a proper excuse to instigate Palandiell, just so that she can get back at the young Dragon Slayer for what she did not too long ago. And Selene was easily triggered, having spent two days in the pouring rain for some stupid politician, only to have some stuck up woman try and tell her what she can and cannot do while also going on to threaten her family. She launched herself forward, but, as expected, Octavian stood in the way and used his own body as a way to stop her from getting passed him even if she was trying to really badly. In frustration, she started yelling out insults: "Skank, bitch, hag! What are you? Fucking 50 and still single or something? Can't see any other fucking reason why you'd even bother with us, how fucking sad! Think you can threaten my family and get away with it? Huh? What? Not gonna say anything?!? You fucking coward! You fucking piece of shit of a woman should just find a husband already and do something useful with that stuck up the mouth of yours! Bet you'd fucking su-.." She was suddenly interrupted by Octavian as he covered her mouth using one of his hands: "Shut it already!" Something in Wilhelmine snapped as the young woman's eyes began twitching, as the emotions of shock, anger, and confusion washed over here all at the same time. Sure she was looking for an excuse to begin the Palandiell but this was way too far. Wilhelmine stood in place in shock, frozen in position like the copper horse that she was thrown into. Selene's words overdid it, she attacked Wilhelmine's honour far too much in only a span of a few seconds, something Wilhelmine wasn't going to let pass so easily. Throwing her head up and pointing to Mr. Edison, Wilhelmine's sadistic smile was more notable than before, the fire in her eyes matched that of Selene's magic, but flared up more violently. "Mr. Edison, you stay here. You're our witness." She said firmly, her voice excited and angry as she looked at Selene and Octavian, "As a native of Enca and head of House Sibiko, I challenge the Atosaki Family to a duel of Palandiell on the count of honour." she announced. The air around them fell silent as if everyone in the city had suddenly died and only the pouring rain remained to keep them company. Mr. Edison, along with several other citizens that had caught on to the ruckus, was left in shock as each and every one of them stood there with their mouths were gaping and their bodies froze. The Atosaki siblings showed similar expressions but theirs were more out of confusing rather than shock, having no idea what just happened nor what would happen hereafter: "Huuuuuuuuhh!?" The Meeting Four days had gone by since Wilhelmine made an official declaration of Palandiell against the two siblings, a duel of honour at its core and one that could've been avoided if it wasn't for the fact that Selene accepted the challenge sometime after its announcement. Because of this, the young dragon slayer had to stay put in Enca until her uncle could come and answer the call. Octavian was the one that had to come back home to both deliver and explain the whole Palandiell event to the head of their family, which had merely been a short summary given by Wilhelmine and was thus not much to go on. Selene was currently sitting face to face with three members of the Sibiko Family: The matriarch of the Sibiko Family, Wilhelmine, was occupying a seat to the left while the former head of the family and representative, Phillip Sibiko, were sitting right next to her. Lastly, a fellow person from Fiore, Gai Diyos had taken the last seat. Then there was the neutral party and witness to the whole event, Mr. Edison, a few metres away from the group of individuals and was clearly trying his best not to lose consciousness. As this was a traditional event and one of old customs, the room they all sat in was a pretty plain one with only a keyaki wooden table between the two parties, a pillow each to act as a seat and lastly; a hand-painted wall inscribed with dragons, kanji and humans in ink. The architecture reminded Selene of home, so she kind of enjoyed it in a way, even despite having been forced to sit opposite of Wilhelmine and having two vacant seats next to her as they were all waiting for the Atosaki Family and their neutral member to arrive. "You've got to be joking. You agreed to a duel, with her?" Gai exclaimed as he faced Selene, putting emphasis on the last word. "And you! Challenging the Atosakis?" He said in the same manner towards Wilhelmine. It was obvious the Mystan didn't want to be here, but since they were technically family he was going to be dragged into this fight one way or another. "Hush now child. We're in the presence of a guest, and it would be rude to act a way so unladylike." Phillip's voice box spoke, chuckling towards the end as the old man continued to look down, his eyes resting under his eye lids. Wilhelmine however kept her concentration strong on Selene, the fire was not put out yet and she looked as though she was ready to pounce any moment now at the young girl. Gai was nervous, to now that he was dragged into a duel of Palandiell was hard enough as he was forced to contribute to the defence of House Sibiko's honour. But dragged into a duel with the Atosakis was another thing, as he already knew of their powers by the tellings of his friend Nero. Gai reached into his pocket and pulled out a purse of coins, shoving in front of Phillip's face, "C'mon. Will this be enough to let the Diyos Family out of this mess, or at least me?" he reasoned out. Phillip immediately shoved the bribe out of his face and looked at Gai with a piercing gaze that made the man back down. "We can't have you leave now. We're going to need all the fire power we can get. Everyone knows about you and your guild, especially the guild hall." Wilhelmine chimed, with Gai responding by sticking his tongue out at the matriarch. Selene's eyes shifted between the two males as they appeared so different from one one another, being mostly fixated on the Guild Master of Stellara Nocte as she had never seen her uncle's guild master in person. He didn't appear to be as harmful as the recent rumors made him out to be, but appearances can be deceiving she reminded herself. Growing curious, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth but closed it with haste as the doors behind her opened. Selene pulled her hat down to cover her eyes as they became fixated on the table rather than the others. First in came the Head of the Atosaki Family, wearing the customary clothing of the Mystan Monks as usual, Augustus didn't display his usual wide smile but rather one more serious and even frightening compared to his usual appearance. Behind him came Nero Atosaki, the Phoenix Slayer wasn't as serious as his older brother but still showcased a serious attitude at first before taking notice of Gai on the other side of the room. His face gave way to an expression of momentary shock before quickly shifting to a more smug expression. Last in came the neutral member of the group, Pixet Z. Anbā, certainly a known face for any politicians that have any connections with Desierto, whom was more visibly nervous compared to the others and steadily made his way next to Mr. Edison. The two Atosaki members each took their seats, Augustus in the middle and face to face with Philip while Nero gave a casual nod to his Guild Master before taking the seat opposite to him. Selene didn't look up or greeted them, she was somewhat ashamed over the situation, but it didn't stop Augustus. He looked over at her, the Dragon Slayer clearly feeling his gaze, before he reached out to pat her shoulder and give out a sigh of relief. Her face lit up but Augustus didn't want to force the Sibiko to wait any longer and turned to Philip: "Philip Sibiko, as the Head of the Atosaki Family it's my honor to finally meet you even if I would have wished it to be under different circumstances." Phillip nodded in return, his facial expressions just as dim and serious as Augustus', "Likewise, it honestly is a shame that we had to meet like this for the first time. House Sibiko is honoured to meet a family so diverse that they hold many connections across continent. If only our family was just as well linked as yours." Phillip's voice box complimented, hoping to at least brighten the mood up before heading right into the mess. Gai looked directly at Nero, his eyes concentrating on the Phoenix Slayer's face hoping to get his attention. Both Gai and Nero have been friends long enough for Nero to understand what Gai can say through his expressions. And Gai's face spoke of a desperate cry for help, to get out of this mess his technical family got him into without his permission. Wilhelmine caught wind of Gai's actions and reached behind Phillip to pinch Gai, who instantly jumped at the short shot of pain delivered by the matriarch. Gai turning his head to Wilhelmine, poked his tongue out once again before both him and Wilhelmine grabbed their heads due to the sudden pain that surged through their brains. Phillip remained calm as the two struggled for a brief moment, Gai slamming his head into table before them and falling to the ground. Wilhelmine however retained her position but still couldn't fight back against the strange attack. "I am sorry for these twos' behaviour, but please may we carry on?" the voice box spoke again, with Phillip clicking his fingers which somehow stopped the pain from pounding in their heads. Whilst Wilhelmine stayed in her seat, Gai used the awkward silence to get back up and neatly place himself in his chair. Nero had attempted to respond to Gai with similar expressions before being interrupted, yet his "words" shared the Spirit Slayer's feelings and that he too had no say in this. Augustus didn't pay much attention to the squabble but when he looked over at the matriarch it was clear that he was somewhat disappointed in her behaviour, resorting to instead give Philip his utmost attention. "Of course, I don't wish to take up any more time than necessary from a man of you status. Time is of the essence when it comes to politics after all." The Head of the Atosaki Family bowed his head as to further emphasize his words. "You will have to excuse me as I am not familiar with your customs or traditions, but if I've received the correct information then there will be three subjects to speak of in this honorary meeting. First being the number of participants, the second being the location and the last being the decision of whether or not there's a reward for the victor." Selene kept on looking without saying anything, but she couldn't help feel two things: Awe for being able to witness two esteemed political figures setting the groundwork, and pride as the Matriarch was more childish than she likes to believe. Finally showcasing her pride by copying Gai's previous expression and stuck her tongue out towards Wilhelmine. Wilhelmine was obviously irritated but knew that if she were to pull any stunt, she would be having a long talk with her grandfather after the meeting. Phillip nodded in confirmation as he looked towards Augustus, "Yes. You are correct there. I believe most of House Sibiko, consisted of Wilhelmine and some of her siblings will be keen on participating. Poor Eleonora won't be I'm afraid due to her, disability. As such they will be joined by the appropriate member of staff members in order to fill up the slots." Phillip continued. "Don't forget the members of the Diyos Family grandfather." Wilhelmine intervened, much to the dismay of Gai who slumped back into his seat. "Ah yes, can't forget about our Mystan relatives from abroad. We also can't forget about the extended family yes? Léoup should join us since he technically carries our name." The old man proceeded, his tone he used to communicate was authoritative and his word final, what he was saying in this meeting was assured. "But alas, we will need to know how many of you will be partaking in the fight Mr. Atosaki as we have many staff and family who can fill up the empty slots if both House Sibiko and the Diyos Family cannot match the number of you." Selene's eyes grew wide as she heard of the Diyos Family's family place of origin, given that they were fellow Mystan by birth, she couldn't help but grow more curious about her potential opponents than before. Augustus, on the other hand, kept a straight face as he listened intently to the words of the former Head of the Sibiko Family, nodding his head yet again before answering: "Rest assured Mr. Sibiko, I gather that our families are quite evenly matched in terms of numbers. Excluding myself, of course, we should have at least eight members ready to take on this challenge. Which I believe it would be manageable for both parties. In terms of who these individuals are then, it'd consist of my fellow siblings, and our most of our young ones. Should either of them not make it then we've got a few reliable staff members that can replace them. "What about Agrippina?" Nero cut in, he didn't wanna appear rude but it was still something that bothered him. Augustus turned to his little brother with an answer just as quickly: "Of course, she'd be included in this. But not as a first choice, besides, we've got eight members so far and don't think either of us can afford to have twelve members participating." Then he turned back to Philip: "With that being settled, we go on to the subject of our location." It became evident that this was a signal as Pixet cleared his throat before speaking up: "Ah, yes... Eh... I'm here to tell on you behalf of House Anbā and the Sultan of Desierto, that they'd like to offer the Philopator Amphitheatre as a suitable location for this endeavour. And... eh... yeah..." As he finished speaking, Mr. Edison, who had so far tried his best not to engage in this conversation, could be seen visibly astounded by this proposal as was evident by his gaping mouth. Phillip nodded his head once again, "Perfect. That sorts out the location with the only thing left to discuss is the reward. Now being this as a count of honour, usually most Encans would have declared the execution of one who had dishonoured the name." the voice box continued. Gai was quick to carry on the old man's words, slumping down into his chair as he looked at the ground, "But with societies becoming more civilised and it being in our morals to not kill, that sure as hell throws that option out the window." He said disappointedly. Gai looked towards the Atosaki with an expression that Nero knew quite well, as it was something that Gai commonly did around his guild. The look of a clear declaration that was assertive and strong was facing the Atosaki Family as Gai stated his suggestion. "It would only be fair if the losing family must donate one member to the other's service, identifying a clear association with that family. This member can either be staff or an actual member of the family that has lost." He recommended, his tone was strong as he made his point across. Wilhelmine stared at Selene as Gai proposed the idea, a smile forming on her face before mouthing threats towards the young Dragon Slayer. It wasn't until this very moment that Selene finally realised how serious this whole event actually was, and that they've ended up in this situation because of her temperament. She turned towards her uncle and grabbed ahold of his left arm and began to usher her regrets: "You... We can't agree to that uncle! I'll make up for this in another way. There must be another way!" As she spoke, the young dragon slayer's desperation became all the more prominent as her eyes frantically shifted between her uncle and the other members of the room. Nero didn't look at her, the neutral parties were feeling sorry for her while two of the Sibiko family members were obviously enjoying this while Philip seemed to remain calm and composed. Selene's act of desperation was quite a rare sight, one that spoke of her past more than anything, displaying a version of herself that she never managed to leave behind in Mys. The young woman's outburst was really getting to the old man's heart and it pained Augustus that he couldn't respond right away, instead of crossing his arms and taking a deep breath as to ponder on the reward suggested by the family branch of Diyos. "Very well." the Head of the Atosaki Family finally said, without opening his eyes he could almost sense Selene's shock, which resulted in having the young woman standing up and leaving the room in due haste, slamming the door behind her as she left. Finally opening his eyes, Augustus couldn't help but sigh as he looked up at Philip: "She's still young and as much to learn. We accepted your challenge and your terms are fair." Nero had continued to remain silent throughout the whole exchange, he didn't seem particularly bothered by the developments but he wasn't exactly jumping with joy as he took his opportunity to speak: "How do you propose this "allegiance" would work out then Dai? Would the victor choose one of the opposing faction, would the opposing faction otherwise be entitled to choose for themselves and once that is done, depending on the person's political position- would they have abandoned their position once they become one's vassal?" Even though Gai didn't like humans that much, he could feel an ounce of guilt for Selene's actions. "I feel as though I may have made that sound quite, forced. I feel as though they should temporarily be in service to the family with a designated time period or work but that's up to you if you're willing to agree or not. As for selection, it is not particularly my branch of the family that is dealing with this mess so I shall leave that up to the Sibikos for discussion." he responded, his voice clear and affirmative. Phillip looked at Wilhelmine who in turned stared at her grandfather, causing the woman to shoot up from her chair and gently place het hands on the table. "Grandfather and I have come to the agreement that the selection of those must be participating in the tournament. Also, those picked must be from the main family that is opposed, be it either Sibiko or Atosaki. It would be quite unfair for taking other families such as a Diyos away as they have had no real part in the instigation of the Palandiell. As for your last point however, that may be decided on after the tournament where we can come up with a compromise." Nero's expression told Gai that he was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't mess with him about the possibility of having his Guild Master owe his allegiance to him. But simply nodded his head once the matriarch had finished speaking. Augustus did the same as to acknowledge the decisions made by the Sibiko Family, seeing as they had now finished their business, Augustus couldn't help but feel that he needed to attend to his niece. "Then it's settled. When next time we meet, it should be at the arena." He raised his hand towards the Former Head of the Sibiko Family as a gesture of agreement and as a sign of good will: "I wish you good fortune in your days ahead and to your family, Mr. Sibiko." Nero didn't raise his hand, but instead placed a finger in the palm of his hand while displaying an expression of curiosity. While it didn't make much sense to the others, to Gai it was a question if whether or not he'd be up for some food in town. Gai nodded at Nero and so both friends had left together, leaving before everyone else did in order to catch the next ride first. Phillip walked over to Augustus with his voice box in hand and smiled at the head of the Atosaki family, "This is still a duel my friend. May the best family win". Wilhelmine however remained behind still seated in her chair, clicking her fingers as to grab the attention of someone else in the room. With everyone having left the meeting, it was a wonder to who Wilhelmine was trying to talk to if she was the only known person there. "So you got all that?" She said as a hidden door from the back of the room opened, giving way to a figure dressed in uniform to approach the matriarch. "Of course m'lady." The uniform man spoke, his voice robotic and plain just as how a butler would speak to their master. "Good, I can always trust everything with you can't I? Mister Jacob Getter?"